"I never thought it would happen," says Song on dream Sangambeol 'away' team
Singapore naturalization in 2021 World Cup qualifier against Klinsmann on the 16th
Singapore's naturalized athlete Song Eui-young
Song Eui-young, a naturalized player of the Singapore men's national soccer team, is holding a press conference at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the afternoon of the 15th.
The Korean national team and the Singapore national team will play the first match of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asian region second qualifying round at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 16th.
"When I went to Singapore, I never imagined that I would be playing against Korea at Sangam (Seoul World Cup Stadium)."
Korean-Singapore naturalized soccer player Song Eui-young (30, Surabaya) said this at a press conference held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 15th, a day before the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying match against Korea.
Song Eui-young was born in Incheon and learned soccer while attending elementary, middle, and high school in Korea.
After graduating from high school in 2012, he joined Singapore's prestigious Home United (now Lion City), which was led by coach Lee Im-saeng at the time.
Song Eui-young established himself as a special striker in the Singapore league, and in 2021, he became a naturalized player at the suggestion of the Singapore Football Association.
In November of that year, he made his A-match debut wearing a Singapore uniform, and has so far recorded 4 goals and 3 assists in 20 A-match games.
If you enter the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the ‘mecca of Korean soccer’, on the 16th, you will face the Korean national team for the first time in your life.
This is the first time in Korean soccer that a Korean who grew up in Korea becomes a naturalized foreigner and plays for that country's national team against the Korean national team.
Song Eui-young said, "Seoul World Cup Stadium is the stage I dreamed of when I started soccer as a child. I am excited and looking forward to it. Many youth players must have such a dream. Although I came as a member of the away team, I am looking forward to playing in front of Koreans at Sangam in Seoul. “I’m grateful that I can do it,” he said.
Singapore defeated Guam in the playoffs and advanced to the second qualifying round.Before the game against Guam, it is said that Korean parents and other family members put pressure on them, telling them to 'win and come to Korea and play'.
Song Eui-young smiled and said, “I am very grateful to be playing against Korea tomorrow. I want to show a competitive performance.”
When asked about his thoughts on spending two years as a Singapore national team player, Song Eui-young said, "I was very nervous at first. My homework was to prove myself. I prepared hard, played again, and now I feel comfortable playing. My teammates." “I am playing as a team player,” he said emphatically, adding, “I think it is an honor to play for one country’s national team.”
He also confessed that he, as well as his teammates, was having a hard time adjusting to Korea's chilly late fall weather.
Song Eui-young said, "I heard that it suddenly became cold, but it was really very cold. It was difficult to adapt to the point that my colleagues said they couldn't move their bodies. However, from the second day onwards, my body seemed to be moving a little more smoothly." 카지노사이트존